Comparing quantities in the Doman method (Maja is one year old)
This blog post is quite special because it’s Maja’s birthday today. And today is the day when we start another step in our mathematical adventure: comparing quantities.
What does teaching a baby look like now? I show her the cards with a certain number of dots and say where there is a greater number of them. We need a “greater than” sign which is a part of our maths set. After some time spent on doing this, I am going to introduce “less than” comparison with the same sign but reversed.
Our sessions have changed a little because I show her all three cards at the same time: a number card, a “greater than” sign and another number card. I put them on the floor or on the table. I did the same with short number sequences. But as you remember from that post, I used to say the whole equation and show use the card only when saying the solution. This is what Doman suggests in his book “How to Teach Your Baby Maths” which I mention in the Must-have section. It seems we should approach different steps differently. Right now it is necessary to show all the cards.
We continue to have three sessions daily, three comparisons in each. In the picture representing this post you can see an exemplary comparison : 75>27. I say: “seventy-five is greater than twenty-seven.” I say it in English, of course because I teach my baby maths and I introduced the idea of intentional bilingualism to our house.
After a week, I am going to give my baby a problem-solving opportunity. This means showing her two cards and asking her which of the two shows a greater quantity of dots than a card lying next to > sign.
The following two weeks will be devoted to showing “less than” comparisons in the same way. I think I will mix “greater than” > and “less than” < in one session towards the end of our adventure with comparing quantities.
Have you found my experience useful or inspiring? If yes, share with others. Are you doing maths with your baby? I would be delighted if you leave a comment and share your experience.
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I have created a Facebook group for parents doing Doman as I haven’t found any. This is just the beginning but I hope there will be more and more of us soon and that we will share our experience with one another.
